Mar 28, 2024  
2017-2018 SGPP Catalog and Handbook 
    
2017-2018 SGPP Catalog and Handbook [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Undergraduate Requirements and Shared Core Courses


Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: Programs of Study

Undergraduate Degree Requirements

  1. A minimum of 122 semester credits is required for graduation with a bachelor of science degree from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.
  2. Students must demonstrate competency in 5 thematic general education areas prior to graduation. No course can fulfill more than one general education requirement.
  3. At least 36 classroom-based semester credits must be completed at Saint Mary’s University as designated by specific program requirements.
  4. At least 62 of the total 122 degree credits must be transcripted credit from regionally-accredited or specialty-accredited institutions of higher learning.
  5. A minimum of 60 credits must be in a classroom, online, or blended setting.
  6. Six credits must be in coursework identified as Communication courses.
  7. Students must have at least a 2.0 grade point average to graduate.

Double Major Requirements

Students at the bachelor’s level may elect to pursue two or more majors in the bachelor of science program. Multiple majors will be granted upon the successful completion of the following:

  • required courses for all programs;
  • minimum of 54 credits total completed at Saint Mary’s University; and
  • all other requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree.

University Delivery

Each of the three semesters of Saint Mary’s University’s academic year are divided into two eight-week sessions. Fall semester August through December, Spring is January through April, and Summer is May through August. Students can begin classes anytime throughout the year.

Saint Mary’s offers a flexible program offered primarily in the evenings with some weekend sessions. Students may take as few or as many classes as they can manage successfully each semester. Six credits per semester is considered half-time status whereas full-time status requires the student to take 12 credits per semester.

Financial aid is available to bachelor degree completion students taking a minimum of six semester credits.

Courses are offered on the Twin Cities campus and at approved off-campus locations. Students are free to take courses at any of the sites unless the schedule indicates that the site is open to employees only.

Students enrolled in BS programs with a GPA of 3.0 or higher may take up to 6 graduate-level credits within the bachelor’s program from a specified list of courses offered by Saint Mary’s University. The courses must be part of their final 12 credits taken in the bachelors candidate program. These courses will satisfy the residential credits as part of both bachelor’s and master’s degrees. To receive graduate credit, the student must earn a grade of B or higher.

General Education Requirements


Saint Mary’s recognizes that its bachelor’s completion students arrive with educational, work, and life experiences that have already informed their perspectives.  As adult learners, students build upon their prior experiences by engaging in coursework that fosters individual development, humanizes practices in the field, and meets the responsibilities and challenges of 21st century citizenship. Coursework in the five general education thematic areas complements professional program expertise and encompasses critical thinking, ethical deliberation, and communicative sensitivity, reflecting Saint Mary’s mission to “awaken, nurture, and empower learners to ethical lives of service and leadership.”

To earn the B.S. degree, a minimum of 30 semester credits for general education must be distributed among the themes as follows:

Creativity and Human Expression (12 cr.):  To explore and reflect upon the human spirit and condition by imaginative and expressive means through

  • humanities and fine arts (6 cr.), and
  • oral and written communications (6 cr.).

Global Human Perspectives (3 cr.):  To learn from and with diverse others through

  • human diversity, cultural competence, or global viewpoints (3 cr.).

Ethics and Civic Responsibility (6 cr.):  To develop a sense of civic responsibility that promotes ethical leadership directed toward social justice and sustainability through

  • ethical and civic responsibility (3 cr.), and
  • history, and social or behavioral science (3 cr.).

The Natural World (6 cr.):  To apply quantitative reasoning and evidence-based inquiry to describe or explain the natural world through

  • mathematics (3 cr.) and
  • science (3 cr.).

Engaging the Future (3 cr.):  To apply integrative problem-solving approaches through

  • information literacy, creative problem solving, or interdisciplinary learning (3 cr.).

The general education requirements can be met by

  • transferring credit for coursework and/or training (transfer students who have completed the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum with course grades of C or higher are considered to have met Saint Mary’s University general education requirements);
  • completing the prior learning assessment (PLA) process to recognize competence through life experiences;
  • successfully completing standardized examinations such as CLEP or DSST; and/or
  • completing a Saint Mary’s University course aligned with a general education theme.

Prior Learning Assessment (PLA)


Saint Mary’s University recognizes that many students come to the Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs (SGPP) with college-level learning that has occurred outside of the traditional college classroom.  Students may obtain college credit for this learning by participating in the Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) process.

Students seeking credit through the PLA process must first obtain approval from their program director.  Once approved, students take COM325  Prior Learning Exploration during which they create a portfolio that documents evidence of their learning.  PLA assessors then review the portfolio for college credit.  Students may be granted up to 35 credits for their PLA portfolios. 

Students who transfer PLA credits from other colleges or universities are ineligible for Saint Mary’s University’s PLA process.

Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: Programs of Study